Category: Uncategorized

Construction fencing is now up at the SFU Sustainable Energy & Environmental Engineering Building site at 102 Ave & University Dr. While the project has not yet received 4th reading / final approval from Surrey City Council, this is a good indication that they expect to soon, and are aiming to get a head start on site preparation so that clearing and excavation can begin this fall.

It also now appears that the remaining house to the adjacent north of the site on 102A Ave may be set to be demolished soon as well, with numerous construction trailers now on the property. The vacant lots further to the north of it have also seen some site cleaning this week, perhaps indicating that trees on those properties could soon be removed. These properties have been indicated as a future site for an SFU residence tower, as well as new Urban Green Lane which will run behind the new SFU Building.

Making big news this week was the much-anticipated announcement of redevelopment plans for the Stardust Roller Rink site in the heart of Surrey Central at 10240 City Parkway. Major Surrey developer WestStone Group which owns the site announced that they are partnering with CIBT Education Group to develop a 50-Storey “Education Mega Centre” on the site. This major redevelopment is intended to provide space for educational institutions as well as short-term and long-term affordable accommodations for international students. From the press-release:

It is being proposed that the podium of the Mega Center (levels 1 to 2) will provide for many supporting amenities such as a food court, student lounge, computer centre, electronic library, conference rooms as well as office space for education consultants and other industry related services.

Levels 3 to 6 will be leased to 20 educational institutions from around the world as their satellite campuses in Surrey.

Levels 8 to 26 will be comprised of residential suites designed for long term stay international students.

Levels 7 and 27 will be comprised of amenity space such as fitness centre and lounges for long term residents and student hotel guests.

Upper floors from level 28 to 49 will be GEC’s flagship student hotel for short term stays.

Level 50 will be the front desk and check in area for the student hotel.

The Mega Center will consist of approximately 550,000 square feet and a development budget of $230 million.

While no application has yet been submitted, it is expected that one could be submitted by later this fall. No mention of when the project is anticipated to be completed by, but it’s likely that it could begin construction by 2018 and finish by 2020/21.

In addition to the major transformative impact this project will have on a key site in Surrey City Centre, the project will also initiate a new dedication of 102A Avenue which will eventually connect through to King George Blvd, and align west replacing the Surrey Central Bus Loop, connecting with the existing 102A Avenue at University Drive. The tower’s height is expected to be similar to the under construction 48-storey 3 Civic Plaza a block away, and will add to the growing concentration of towers as well as educational institutions in the area.

For the 4th year in a row, the Surrey Central ‘Park-it’ pop-up park has returned to Surrey Central Station. This year’s winning submission ‘Polka-Dot / Surrey Spot’ was designed by UBC Landscape Architecture Students Tian Tian and Huan Pan, and is described as:

” an outdoor stage that references a small scale theatre. The design is based on a “spot” idea and uses circles to soften the edges of the skytrain columns, parking lot corners and concrete. The circles appear in every element of the design including benches, piano, ground plane and bar seats. A bench with metal poles can be played like a xylophone. Bright orange, yellow and blue create a colourful and inviting space for pedestrians.”

The space has been getting plenty of attention since opening this week, with people gathering into the night for piano, singing, and a place to sit / eat / socialize. The park will be in place until mid-September.